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The Home Run Kid Races On
Home run slugger Sylvester Coddmyer the Third has an amazing secret. For three seasons, he's been coached by men who look exactly like baseball legends: Babe Ruth, Eddie Cicotte, and Mickey Mantle. Are these men just impersonating famous ballplayers, as his friend Duane insists? Or are they from the "beyond," as Snooky Malone believes? The mystery deepens in this fourth title of the exciting Home Run Kid series when yet another character from baseball's past appears to coach Syl. But is Syl the only one getting pointers? And will Snooky ever get to the bottom of this mystery?
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
18 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
Matt Christopher
470 books144 followersMatt Christopher is the writer young readers turn to when they're looking for fast-paced, action-packed sports novels. He is the best-selling author of more than one hundred sports books for young readers.
Matt Christopher is America's bestselling sports writer for children, with more than 100 books and sales approaching six million copies. In 1992, Matt Christopher talked about being a children's book author.
"I became interested in writing when I was 14, a freshman in high school. I was selling magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post, Country Gentleman, and Liberty, and I would read the stories, particularly the adventure and mystery stories, and think how wonderful it would be to be able to write stories and make a living at it. I also read detective, horror, aviation, and sports stories and decided I would try writing them myself.
Determined to sell, I wrote a detective story a week for 40 weeks, finding the time to marry, work, and play baseball and basketball before I sold my first story in 1941, "The Missing Finger Points," for $50 to Detective Story magazine.
After writing and selling children's sports stories to magazines, I decided to write a baseball book for children. I was living in Syracuse, New York at the time, working at General Electric. I spoke about my idea to the branch librarian. She was immediately interested and told me that they needed sports stories badly. So I came up with my first children's book, The Lucky Baseball Bat. I submitted it to Little, Brown, and the book was published in 1954.
I'm sure that playing sandlot baseball and then semiprofessional baseball with a Class C club in the Canadian-American League influenced my writing. I had my own personal experiences, and I saw how other players reacted to plays, to teammates' and fans' remarks and innuendoes, to managers' orders, etc. All these had a great influence on my writing. My love of the game helped a lot, too, of course.
Out of all the books I've written, my favorite is The Kid Who Only Hit Homers. It's a fantasy, but the main character in it could be real. There are a lot of boys who would love to play baseball but, for some reason, cannot. The only difference between a real-life boy and Sylvester Coddmyer III is the appearance of a character named George Baruth, whom only Sylvester can see and who helps Sylvester become a good ballplayer.
I've written many short stories and books for both children and adults, and find that writing for children is really my niche. Being the eldest of nine children (seven boys and two girls), I've lived through a lot of problems many children live through, and I find these problems excellent examples to include in my books.
Sports have made it possible for me to meet many people with all sorts of life stories, on and off the field, and these are grist for this writer's mill. I'm far beyond playing age now, but I manage to go to both kids' and adult games just to keep up with them, and keep them fresh in my mind.Very few things make me happier than receiving fan letters from boys and girls who write that they had never cared for reading until they started to read my books. That is just about the ultimate in writing for children. I would never trade it for another profession."
Matt Christopher died on September 27, 1997. His legacy is now being carried on by his sons, Duane and Dale Christopher.
Matt Christopher is America's bestselling sports writer for children, with more than 100 books and sales approaching six million copies. In 1992, Matt Christopher talked about being a children's book author.
"I became interested in writing when I was 14, a freshman in high school. I was selling magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post, Country Gentleman, and Liberty, and I would read the stories, particularly the adventure and mystery stories, and think how wonderful it would be to be able to write stories and make a living at it. I also read detective, horror, aviation, and sports stories and decided I would try writing them myself.
Determined to sell, I wrote a detective story a week for 40 weeks, finding the time to marry, work, and play baseball and basketball before I sold my first story in 1941, "The Missing Finger Points," for $50 to Detective Story magazine.
After writing and selling children's sports stories to magazines, I decided to write a baseball book for children. I was living in Syracuse, New York at the time, working at General Electric. I spoke about my idea to the branch librarian. She was immediately interested and told me that they needed sports stories badly. So I came up with my first children's book, The Lucky Baseball Bat. I submitted it to Little, Brown, and the book was published in 1954.
I'm sure that playing sandlot baseball and then semiprofessional baseball with a Class C club in the Canadian-American League influenced my writing. I had my own personal experiences, and I saw how other players reacted to plays, to teammates' and fans' remarks and innuendoes, to managers' orders, etc. All these had a great influence on my writing. My love of the game helped a lot, too, of course.
Out of all the books I've written, my favorite is The Kid Who Only Hit Homers. It's a fantasy, but the main character in it could be real. There are a lot of boys who would love to play baseball but, for some reason, cannot. The only difference between a real-life boy and Sylvester Coddmyer III is the appearance of a character named George Baruth, whom only Sylvester can see and who helps Sylvester become a good ballplayer.
I've written many short stories and books for both children and adults, and find that writing for children is really my niche. Being the eldest of nine children (seven boys and two girls), I've lived through a lot of problems many children live through, and I find these problems excellent examples to include in my books.
Sports have made it possible for me to meet many people with all sorts of life stories, on and off the field, and these are grist for this writer's mill. I'm far beyond playing age now, but I manage to go to both kids' and adult games just to keep up with them, and keep them fresh in my mind.Very few things make me happier than receiving fan letters from boys and girls who write that they had never cared for reading until they started to read my books. That is just about the ultimate in writing for children. I would never trade it for another profession."
Matt Christopher died on September 27, 1997. His legacy is now being carried on by his sons, Duane and Dale Christopher.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 25, 2022
My sons love this series. It involves great info about baseball history as well as instruction on different aspects of baseball. It's action packed and a lot of fun.
November 6, 2022
Sylvester Coddmyer the Third has a secret - for the last three baseball seasons, he's been getting extra help with his skills. With their help, Syl has become a home-run hitter for his team. Though his friends have never seen those that have helped Syl in the past - Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Eddie Cicotte - they have their own theories about what is actually happening.
Now a new season is starting, and there's a kid on a rival team who seems to be following Syl's pattern and hitting a lot of home runs. At the same time, Syl's getting help from someone new - someone he calls Mr. Teecee - who's helping Syl learn how to bunt and slide. It also quickly becomes clear that Mr. Teecee doesn't get along with Mr. Bay Ruth. With his presence and Mr. Bay Ruth's absence, Syl begins to question whether or not the new home-run hitter is getting help like him, and the possibility doesn't sit well with him.
This was such a fun story to listen to. Originally written in the early 1990s, the book was republished in 2010, along with an audiobook narrated by Joshua Swanson. When originally published, the names of the baseball players who help Syl were more likely to be household names than they would be today. Yet, instead of that taking away from the book, I think it adds to the mystery. Unless the reader is a baseball fan who has studied famous players throughout history, it's unlikely that Mr. Teecee will be identified by the reader.
If you like baseball stories, give the book a go. At the same time, if you like listening to your stories, I also recommend the audiobook. Whichever method you use for your reading, I recommend that you choose this book.
Now a new season is starting, and there's a kid on a rival team who seems to be following Syl's pattern and hitting a lot of home runs. At the same time, Syl's getting help from someone new - someone he calls Mr. Teecee - who's helping Syl learn how to bunt and slide. It also quickly becomes clear that Mr. Teecee doesn't get along with Mr. Bay Ruth. With his presence and Mr. Bay Ruth's absence, Syl begins to question whether or not the new home-run hitter is getting help like him, and the possibility doesn't sit well with him.
This was such a fun story to listen to. Originally written in the early 1990s, the book was republished in 2010, along with an audiobook narrated by Joshua Swanson. When originally published, the names of the baseball players who help Syl were more likely to be household names than they would be today. Yet, instead of that taking away from the book, I think it adds to the mystery. Unless the reader is a baseball fan who has studied famous players throughout history, it's unlikely that Mr. Teecee will be identified by the reader.
If you like baseball stories, give the book a go. At the same time, if you like listening to your stories, I also recommend the audiobook. Whichever method you use for your reading, I recommend that you choose this book.
July 8, 2019
I read this with my 10 year old son. It was age appropriate and interesting. I love the mixture of baseball history with fiction, and quite honestly there was a lot of practical instruction on bunting, base stealing and sliding, which I think my little ball player can use. The supernatural aspect of the story was cool too.
March 22, 2025
Nice to feel like a kid again
January 25, 2012
This is the first sports story I have ever read/listened too. Although I like watching baseball and am a consummate Yankee fan, I didn't think I was going to like this book. I think I was worried that there would be a lot of baseball jargon and no story. I could not have been more wrong. I found myself very interested in this story. The way the author weaved the baseball definitions into the text was seamless and while educational, did not feel didactic. The audio also has great added background noises, such as the sound of crowds, the sound of a baseball hitting a bat or glove, and a few others. All in all, listening to this book was a great experience and I would recommend it to a reluctant reader or someone interested in baseball.
April 25, 2016
The Home Run Kid Races On by Matt Christopher was a really good book. I continues on form the third book. Every chapter in this book kept me interested. There was no chapter that was boring in my opinion.
I started off with the main character, Syl, being in a big slump. He goes to a baseball game and there he sees a player on another team hitting only home runs, like he used to. He think he could have been coached by his old coach. Along the jeouney he finds another mysterious character to help him with his baseball.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Matt Chirstopher.
I started off with the main character, Syl, being in a big slump. He goes to a baseball game and there he sees a player on another team hitting only home runs, like he used to. He think he could have been coached by his old coach. Along the jeouney he finds another mysterious character to help him with his baseball.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Matt Chirstopher.
August 8, 2014
I liked it. And they had to do a risky plan to win a game. And the thing was he had to steal home. One person was going to bunt and the person on first was going to steal second to make them steal second. So the catcher would throw to second and then Sal had to run home to get the winning run cause it was tied 6-6. The plan worked out cause it was 7-6.
September 2, 2013
Another good "sports" book from Matt C. The boys enjoyed this one, and it also had some great coaching tips and play by play descriptions of the games. I still don't love one of the supporting characters, but his beliefs were less emphasized in this book.
March 2, 2013
Sylvester is the young man in the story who is working on his baseball skills. I am not a sports fan but this really got my reading group of boys talking.
Read
May 8, 2015This book could go on two of my shelves; mystery or sports. That's why I like it, it draws to crowds. Some students like books about sports and other students like the thrill of a mystery.
July 23, 2016
I found it interesting that the "ghosts" of Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb were helping the kid learn to be a better baseball player.
October 16, 2016
The book would be awesome for a baseball fan. Sylvester gets to meet and be coached by some of the greats. Ty Cobb will teach him how to bunt, slide and steal.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews